Colley Whisson Retreat June 2016

Blackall Cultural Assoc. hosted a 5 day Retreat with renowned oil painter Colley Whisson at the beginning of June. Luckily we had painters and not photographers for this Retreat as Blackall also received the highest recorded daily rainfall of 75mm for June!

Colley demonstrating his techniques to some of the group.

Not a lot of room was left after everyone was set up.

Thursday afternoon saw up make a short journey around Blackall to showcase our sculptures and then to converge upon the very hospitable Davison family for wine and cheese on their lawn. What better way to end the day!

Our community was lucky enough recently to receive the loan of a vehicle to be used by community groups and organisations if required. As Colley flew out from Brisbane to conduct the workshop and retreat for us, this car enabled him to have a set of wheels for exploring our town.

Back to the workroom on Friday to learn everything from mixing paint colours to composition.

Masterpieces being created.

As Friday was a long waited for rainy day, on Saturday we headed to Ram Park and a visit with Stewie who conducted a tour for 20 tourists. For anyone not from Blackall, Ram Park and a free tour with Stewie is something well worth visiting.

Sunday – sketching day. A visit to the Blackall Woolscour where sketching talents were showcased, followed by an informative tour through the last remaining steam driven woolscour in Australia. Sunday afternoon and Colley demonstrated how to plein air paint, with Princess (the horse) being a very patient subject.

After providing us with scrumptious lunches for the last 5 days, we were all eager to see what creation Mardi, from the Marmaladies Catering was going to provide us with for the Farewell Dinner. We certainly were not disappointed! A fabulous engaging but relaxing week was had by all.